The Freedom From Religion Foundation is strongly criticizing Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for a series of misleading and unconstitutional actions in which he falsely accused private and public institutions of “anti-Christian discrimination.” His recent threats against Microsoft, the American Bar Association and the city of Pensacola represent a troubling misuse of government power and a fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment.
In the span of one week, Uthmeier issued three separate letters accusing these entities of anti-Christian bias. Each claim collapses under basic constitutional scrutiny.
“Florida is not a Christian state and the United States is not a Christian nation. We are all free to believe as we choose, but no one may use public office to enforce religious dogma or punish perceived ideological opponents,” FFRF attorney Chris Line told a reporter for USA Today. “These actions are completely inappropriate. They show the attorney general is willing to use government authority to advance a narrow form of Christianity.”
Uthmeier’s first letter attacked Microsoft for declining to offer nonprofit discounts to so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” many of which exist solely to promote a religious agenda under the guise of health services. As a private company, Microsoft is free to set its own discount criteria. Government officials cannot force corporations to subsidize religious groups or grant special treatment for particular faiths.
Next, Uthmeier accused the American Bar Association of discrimination for enforcing its longstanding accreditation and equal opportunity standards. Uthmeier contends that by deeming St. Thomas University College of Law noncompliant with its standards, it is showing “animus toward religiously affiliated schools.” Yet the ABA currently approves dozens of religiously affiliated law schools. The ABA’s responsibility is to ensure law schools meet professional and ethical requirements, not to bend accreditation rules to suit the preferences of state politicians.
Finally, Uthmeier threatened the city of Pensacola for allowing a drag performance in a city-owned theater near Christmas. He claimed permitting the show “may amount to religious discrimination” because some performers joke about Christian themes. This position is legally indefensible. The First Amendment protects artistic expression, satire and performances that some individuals may find offensive. A city cannot censor speech simply because it touches on religion or conflicts with an official’s personal beliefs.
These threats echo a broader national push by the Trump administration and allied Christian nationalist groups to frame Christians as a persecuted minority despite holding overwhelming cultural and political power. Christians make up 62 percent of the population, but nearly 90 percent of Congress and are disproportionately represented at every level of government. Claims that Christians are the primary victims of discrimination distort the reality of religious liberty in America.
“Religious freedom requires government neutrality about religion, which protects everyone’s rights,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The attorney general’s actions turn that principle on its head. This is a shocking attempt to weaponize governmental power to privilege one religion over all others and over non-religion. His actions must be condemned by everyone who supports the First Amendment and true religious freedom.”
FFRF warns that these escalating efforts to label ordinary regulations and protected speech as “anti-Christian discrimination” are part of a deliberate attempt to dismantle the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. Americans should be deeply concerned when top officials use public office to impose sectarian preferences or shield religious institutions from accountability.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 42,000 members nationwide, including more than 2,000 members in Florida. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
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